Olympic gymnasts to compete at DCU Center

WORCESTER 
The youngest member of the Olympic gold medal-winning “Fierce Five” is ready to get back to work.

Kyla Ross, who helped the U.S. women’s gymnastics team soar to gold in London last summer, headlines the 2013 American Cup in March at the DCU Center.

The 16-year-old Ross will be joined by U.S. Olympic alternate Elizabeth Price in the eight-woman field. Price is coming off back-to-back victories in World Cup events last month.

Four other Olympians — Vanessa Ferrari of Italy, Elisabeth Seitz of Germany, Asuka Teramoto of Japan and Larissa Iordache of Romania — are also scheduled to compete. Two other athletes will be added before the March 2 event.

Two of the top three men’s all-around finishers in London will compete in the eight-man field. Silver medalist Marcel Nguyen of Germany and bronze medalist Danell Leyva of the U.S. will be the leading contenders in a meet featuring a handful of others with Olympic experience.

American Jake Dalton is also in the field. He will be joined by Olympians Sergio Sasaki of Brazil and Oleg Verniaiev of Ukraine.

British gymnast Kristian Thomas, who helped the host country to a surprise bronze-medal finish in the Olympic team competition, also is expected to attend. Two-time Olympian Jorge Hugo Giraldo Lopez of Colombia is participating, with one more competitor to be added in the next few weeks.